Halfway to SEVEN!

My girl...

I remember when I was pregnant with you... I didn't know if you were a boy or a girl until the day you were born.

And I wanted you to be a boy.

The oldest sibling in my own family is my brother, your Uncle Dame - and having him as our "leader" and looking up to him as the oldest was such an honor for me.  I didn't know what a family dynamic would look like with a girl as the oldest... so I just always wanted my first child to be a boy.

And then I met you.

Cameron Kate, you have been my mini-me since the moment you took your first breath.  You were woven with threads of love, sensitivity, kindness, curiosity... 

threads of joy, silliness, brilliance...

threads that so perfectly created a little girl who finds happiness in everything...

...a little girl who has made me find joy during my darkest days.

And truthfully, anytime anyone asks how I'm doing on this new adventure we never saw coming... my new adventure as a divorced, single mama -- my immediate response is always that I couldn't do it without you.

And that is for so many reasons.

You can change diapers and put pajamas on the boys and help buckle/unbuckle car seats.  You can put on and tie shoes, help with chores, and have a memory like Rain Man.  You can kiss boo-boos and wipe noses and get the biggest and best giggles out of your brothers.

But also?  You force me to find joy, to feel silly, to dance and to sing and to run up and down the driveway spreading our glory, no matter how tired and stressed out I feel.

You are my sunshine, you are my rock... and you truly not only help me live everyday - you help me love everyday.

And CK, just like me, you like to celebrate ALL the things.

So today, we celebrated the fact that you are halfway to seven!

You, my girl, are six-and-a-HALF!!

You are reading like a rockstar and you are obsessed with writing "books" (which I'm obsessed with reading).  You absolutely love school and the fact that your very best girlfriends are in your class.  And you now officially want to be a teacher when you grow up. <3

You love peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches, cheese pizza, feta cheese, olives, poppyseed chicken casserole, cookie dough ice cream, and English cucumbers.

You say "dude" regularly, as if you were a teenage boy from a West coast beach.

You watch the weirdest videos on YouTube and I'll never understand it... people opening up surprise eggs, girls playing with dolls, how to organize school supplies videos, ladies opening up and describing toys...?

There are still several words you don't pronounce correctly, or words you've simply made up, and I will be so sad when you correct yourself.  For example- you call your big toe your thumb toe; tears are "tear-ings"; and you legitimately think hunormous is a word.

You are the absolute best big sister, and you truly love every minute of it.  Watching you love your brothers with every ounce of your heart makes mine want to explode... especially when I think back to the days I wondered if you'd ever even get to be a sister at all.

And yes, you truly do love your family.  But.  Quite possibly what you love most on this planet?  Moxie.  The cat I got on a whim on a random Sunday afternoon.  The cat I swore I'd never have, as a self-declared cat-hater.  But you and this cat are like two peas in a pod and she is truly one of the best parenting decisions I have ever made.

You have about six bracelets you wear every single day without fail.  They each represent something to you, remind you of something or someone - which lets me peek into the part of your heart that is bound to one day be hopelessly romantic and sentimental, just like yours truly.

You love all things soccer... and it's so awesome to watch you find your talent and come out of your shell on the field.

You need snuggles each morning, preferring to welcome the new day being wrapped up in love.  And while the space on my lap is shrinking as you grow, I hope you know I will always have room for you in my arms.

Cameron Kate-- your imagination is second to none, and I love when I can sneak and listen to the worlds you create in your mind and in your bedroom.  

I hope that imagination sprouts into dreams that never die, dreams that keep hope in your heart for all of your days... a hope that endures, a hope that believes, a hope that stands strong in the trials and makes you feel brave during moments that require courage.

A hope that lights your path during the inevitable dark days, a hope that allows you to always find and know your own inner-light...

Because you, my girl, have a light that shines so brightly, a light that I know with all of my heart will always shine brightly for you and anyone who is lucky enough to be a part of your world.

Happy 6.5, CK.

I love you to the moon and back and more than anything in this world...

~Mama